Books ... Love Them or Hate Them

[jazzy_dave]

I been reading this book by Nick Hornby called Polysyllabic Spree and it is a hoot of a read - and as it is about books, it is a subject that is close to my heart.

So, are there any books that you have bought and did not finish?

Do you prefer e-books to physical books?

What is the best book you have read?

What is the worst book you have read?

Comments

[mundungus42.livejournal.com]

Heh, my problem is buying so many books that I don't have time to read!

Perhaps it's because I don't have a Kindle or a large tablet, but I still prefer physical books to e-readers, despite acknowledging that if I had a Kindle I would adore being able to carry a library with me without straining my shoulder. But I would feel guilty abandoning all the aforementioned books for the shiny new object.

Best book? Hoo boy, there are so many. In the classic lit category, I adore Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita," George Eliot's "Middlemarch," Austen's "Persuasion," and Cervantez's "Don Quixote." For things of a more recent vintage, Michael Faber's "Crimson Petal and the White" and Michael Chabon's "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" were superb. I also read a lot of wonderful YA writers: Cornelia Funke, Walter Moers, Kate di Camillo, Tamora Pierce (especially her Tortall books), J.K. Rowling, Gerald Morris (his Arthurian legend retellings are hysterically funny), and the late great Louise Rennison, who made me laugh until my sides hurt. And I adore genre writers/works like Tolkein, Lewis, Cooper, Asimov, Le Guin, and Frank Herbert's "Dune." And of course Douglas Adams!

Worst book is easy: "Tropic of Cancer" by Henry Miller. I don't mind sexual content (I quite loved it in Lady Chatterly), but the prose was overwrought and painful to read. It's one of a handful of books I deliberately stopped reading because it was so awful.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

That Henry Miller books is one i hated as it was , as you say, too overwrought.

[seawasp]

There's a few books I've started but didn't finish; can't remember any of them offhand, which isn't terribly surprising.

I like both ebooks and physical books, but now that the technology's starting to mature I really like the convenience of ebooks.

The BEST book? Damn, that's a really hard call, since there's lots of totally awesome books. And since you just say "book" that means any genre of any type. How do I decide (for instance) between _The Count of Monte-Cristo_ and _Lord Valentine's Castle_, or _Little Fuzzy_ and _Little House on the Prairie_, or _Mutineer's Moon_ and _Pride and Prejudice_?

The WORST that I've read all the way through is still almost certainly _Lord of the Flies_, as it was that book that made me resolve never to again waste my time reading books that sucked.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Yeah perhaps i should stated the plural lol.

[thespian15.livejournal.com]

There have been a couple of books I wanted to put down, but once I start a book I feel obligated to finish them. Now that I say that, I haven't ever gone back and finished Tale of Two Cities. :o Of the other two books, one was an autobiography by Diana Ross. What an ego. OMg... The other was a biography of the last Dowager Empress of China. It tried way too hard to convince the reader that she wasn't as bad as she has been written about in all previous books. :o

For the most part I prefer real books.

I don't think I can pick a Best book.

As for worst, see the above descriptions. :o
Hugs, Jon

[dark-phoenix54.livejournal.com]

I could not finish 'Naked Lunch'. I never did figure out WTF it was about. There are a few others, but that one stands out.

I prefer physical books to ebooks, unless I'm traveling. Then the iPad is nice, as I tend to pack at least three times as many books as I really need.

I could not begin to figure out the best book. So many great ones. If I made a list, I'd forget a lot of them.

'Don Quixote'. I swear Cervantes must have been paid by the word with all the padding that was in there. I did finish it, though, because it was a group read.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Nope. I finish every book I buy. :D

Nahhh, still nothing like the 'real' thing. :D

Think 'Neverending Story' comes close, but I have read so many good ones...

Can't think of any. Have a tendency to 'delete' them from my memory, lol!!

*HUGS*

[everville340.livejournal.com]

Yes. I still have parts of Neil Gaiman's Trigger Warning collection, and also most of Hank Wesselman's Spirit Medicine, due to an overly lethargic inability to read.

Physical books with spines and pages, always. Although I will admit to having a magazine subscription on the Kindle, as it saves over $100 annually to do so.

Clive Barker's Everville, natch, for both the quote that eventually inspired me to face a dark fear, as well as the novel itself.

I mean no disrespect personally to the author, but I had to completely skip certain offerings in the Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi series (from the days before Disney desecrated/absconded SW Canon).

[siglinde99.livejournal.com]

I very rarely abandon fiction that I have bought. I have quite a few research books that are more for browsing than for reading from cover to cover.

I have never read an e-book.

The Grapes of Wrath is still one of my absolute favourites.

One of the books I abandoned - thankfully, I have blocked out all memories of the actual story.

[ericadawn16.livejournal.com]

There's a Nick Hornby book I haven't read?!!!

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

1. No
2. No.
3. Cry to Heaven - Anne Rice
4. No choice ... I don't purchase a book if I don't think I would like it.

[xfirefly9x.livejournal.com]

Yes. Uni books, including a few classics I just didn't have time to finish reading during the semester, and never got back to reading. I also rarely read an entire textbook if that counts. Outside of uni, there were also a few review copies I was assigned that I ended up disliking and gave negative feedback for, along the lines of "didn't like it for whatever reason/didn't finish it". I always try and be constructive in reviews if I don't finish something, of course.

I like both. I try to have one of each on the go at the same time, in fact, because it's easier to read on my kindle in bed with the backlight and not having to turn physical pages. But I love physical books and have several shelves full. So, yeah. Both.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. ♥

Avenger's Angel by Heather Killough-Walden (one of the books I was assigned to review, but couldn't get out of).

[ladyblue56.livejournal.com]

I have a stack of unfinished books but in my case my attention goes elsewhere or I need a different read bc of how the brain is working or not working that day. There's maybe a few I won't care to finish but I can't recall any specific titles. I also have a huge stack of "to be read" books I have not gotten to but bought w. intent to read. And both stacks (boxes, shelves) are probably more books than I'll be able to read in the rest of my life.

New to having an E-reader but I still enjoy both versions - real books have the weight, the smell, the presence. Reading is like a contact sport w. me bc I dogear pages, underline, maybe make a note in the margin if so moved. I do use thin slips of paper to mark places and one day when daughter goes through my books I hope she'll take the time to read some and see why I marked books as I have long done. The E-reader is easier on my wonky hands and I've read some interesting books on it I would not have read otherwise.

In recent memory for best I've read, a couple of poems by Mary Oliver in "Blue Horses." (not finished w. book yet as they require slow reading and time to digest.). I can't think of only one book as the best, Marge Piercy's "Woman on the Edge of Time" and a few other of her novels, Alice Adams short story collections, Ann Beattie's "Burning House" and on and on still stand out in memory from many years ago. "To Kill A Mockingbird" bc Miss Nell (Harper Lee) is our state's pride and joy but also bc the writing is exceptional and another book that has stayed w. me a long time.

... I have been in circumstances not to push through a book that doesn't hold my interest or maybe bc it is not a good brain day. Recently on E-reader did not finish a couple of cozy mysteries bc of the writing but can't say they're the worst I've ever tried to read, only poorly written.

Two books in the past several months that stand out as ones I did not want to finish. The first is by Chuck Palahniuk. This is the guy who wrote 'Fight Club" and the reason I checked it out from library. I'd be majorly pissed if I'd paid money for either book.

"Stories You Can't Unread" and the title says it all. Gross in general, crude on purpose, he crossed several lines (w. me) and after a few stories I was disgusted and disturbed and put the book aside to return. It seemed more like he'd pulled the stories out of the back of the file cabinet to make up the pages needed for a book and his editor didn't blink at the gratuitous crap.
As you can see, I'm still not over the dip into this cess pool of fiction. The title is certainly true bc I can't unread or forget the ick.

The other book that was one of the worst reading experiences ever in my life was written completely in malapropisms. The title and author escapes me but every sentence on every page had words substituted and the brain kept trying to decipher which word it was supposed to be what so the story would make sense - gave me a massive headache. I was thinking it was another Chuck Palahniuk book but can't find anything on Amazon that sounds like it. It was also a library book but their site doesn't have a way for me to check out previous loans.

[sandman-jazz.livejournal.com]

1. Only one to date (on putoose) which was The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells. Unengaging and an unlikeable central character.

2. I much prefer physical books to e-books.

3. Oh I don't know. For now I will say the Complete Sherlock Holmes.

4. Erm, probably Jude the Obscure

[kabuldur.livejournal.com]

I once started Peter Carey's Oscar and Lucinda and was loving it, but #1 daughter moved out and as it was her book and she was reading it too, I didn't get to finish it. I can't remember if I bought it or not.

I prefer physical books.

To Kill a Mockingbird, probably. Or The Hobbit.

Worst book? Not sure. Maybe a book #1 brother's wife recommended but I found it absolute trash - Mills and Boon type of stuff. That one I read through to the bitter end. All the others I didn't finish and tried to erase all trace of them from my brain - and I think I succeeded!

[eliki.livejournal.com]

There are quite a few books I never finished. I forget most of them, but most recently there was a book called "The Pinch," all about the different generations. It was so, so dry and technical, I just couldn't raise the enthusiasm to finish it!

I prefer physical books - I love actually holding the book, and being able to flick through it to any page within seconds. I can see the advantages of e-books (such as search features, storage etc) but I still personally love paper books.

Best book... The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. Okay, it's a kids book but I read it over and over as a kid, and it actually makes for a better read as an adult, because you can spot all the puns that you might have missed before. Very cleverly written and funny.

Worst book... I'm not a fan of classics. I had to read Jane Eyre at college as part of the course and I have been so bored.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

There have been a few, but I couldn't tell you their names. I don't tend to remember stuff like that.

Always physical books.

We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

I'm assuming you mean of the books we finished. The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

[calico-pye.livejournal.com]

Plenty, mostly down to time. The Roald Dahl bio and the Lucian Freud ones will be tackled at some point. I have a fair few that I haven't started either :-/

Physical books are far better - I have a Kindle Fire, which is backlit and a strain on the eyes.

Sexing the Cherry/The Passion - Jeanette Winterson

50 Shades Trilogy. Bloody awful.